Chicago Cubs might need to say goodbye to Grimm and Butler

An injury or two during spring training could change all of this. But ultimately baseball is a battle of survival of the fittest. Maddon says baseball has a way of working these things out.

Grimm and Butler have had chances in the past to show their value to the Cubs. Jason Hammel was allowed to leave after the 2016 season to give someone like Butler the chance to grab hold of a spot in the starting rotation. Perhaps the Cubs would have non-tendered Grimm if they knew that they were going to be able to resign Duensing.

The Cubs might be able to trade Grimm and Butler if it comes down to it. However, all of the other teams will know that is exactly what the Cubs will be trying to do, so the return will not be great. Think of the kind of trades the Cubs were able to make when they traded away Darwin Barney, Matt Szczur and Zac Rosscup.

Next: A farewell to Jake Arrieta

Unless there is a spring training injury to at least one starting pitcher (more likely it would take two), Butler probably isn’t a Chicago Cub on opening day. The Cubs have a lot of other Triple-A pitchers they could put into the major league rotation after opening day. Butler had his opportunities last season. The harsh truth of the situation is he just wasn’t good enough last season. And Butler is probably out of time.